/sci/ - Science & Math

There are some wild questions and concerns raised about Neuralink technology in the press and forums. The root cause is probably the drama hunting in the movies and news, because dramatic content is exciting and increases ratings. Then you have people who don't follow how the modern technology actually works. On one hand, they are afraid of all the pulp fiction drama scenarios like The Matrix because they fail to realize how far we are from anything like that. Elon's mixing of real results and distant future projections amplifies that. On the other hand, they fail to see all the possible near-term improvements BCI can bring, especially for people with disabilities.

We should try to educate people, and shape more realistic expectations. For example:

Downloading Kung Fu skills (100yr+):Will not happen any time soon, possibly never. We are still testing early hypotheses on how memory works. Neuralink interface is about interfacing with senses and actuators in the brain, not about direct access to memory.

Advertising abuse (10yr):More realistic, and luckily Neuralink team is conscious of that, and is thinking of ways to keep it out of their products. Still won't be a factor until the first consumer devices start shipping, which is probably no less than 5-10 years away. And even then, it will be an issue no bigger than the current web ads. Annoying but possible to block or otherwise ignore.

Hackers and viruses attacking your brain (10yr):A virus is not realistic, as laughable as people afraid of catching a computer virus now. Human brain is not a programmable device from all we know. A hacker gaining access to your feeds could potentially show you some offensive ads, or misleading directions, or steal some personal data, same as on the web. A physical breach in device could pose an electrical hazard, but there are safety measures to prevent that, and as someone aptly said, if they want to kill you so much, it is easier to shoot you